Railway-car-wheel skid.



PATENTED MAR. 6, 1906.

W. H. FLETCHER. RAILWAY CAR WHEEL SKID.

APPLICATION FILED APEA, 1905.

"UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IVILLIAM HENRY FLETCHER, OF WHITE RIVER, CANADA, ASSIGNOR OF ON E-HALF TO JOHN MGCALLUM, OF \VHITE RIVER, CANADA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 6, 1506.

vblication filed April 4, 1905. Serial No. 253,912.

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Car-Wheel Skids and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention relates to portable railwaycar-wheel skids which can be readily interposed between the car-wheels and thetrackrails to carry a defective car-wheel and the corresponding car-wheel at the opposite end of the same axle as they are drawn along the track-rails beneath the car-wheels during the progress of the car to the siding or terminal where the car is to be stalled, and it relates more particularly to the peculiar construction of the car-wheel skids and to the manner in which they are temporarily attached to the car structure so that they can be drawn along the track-rails beneath the car-wheels and the object of the invention is to so arrange the car-wheel skids that they can be conveniently carried in the engine, van, or car and readily placed in position between the car structure without the loss of any considerable time; and the invention consists, essentially, of the construction of the parts hereinafter more fully described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a defective car-wheel and a portion of a track-rail, showing the location and attachment of the carwheel skid when in use. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the parts shown in Fig.1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a car-wheel.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts throughout the specification and drawings.

lWIounted upon the car-axle a is a defective car-wheel I), having a broken flange c, and interposed between the face of the car-wheel b and the tread of the track-rail d is the body portion 6 of a car-wheel skid having a depending flange f to engage the side of the track-rail. The body portion 6 of the carwheel skid is substantially of a wedge-shaped formation, having at its forward end an apertured lug g, to which is connected a clevis h by a clevis-bolt i, and attached to the clevis h is a chain j, to be fastened to the brake-beam or brake-head k or some other convenient part of the car structure.

A car-wheel having a broken flange cannot safely travel upon the track-rail, and heretofore it has been necessary to prevent the revolution of an injured car-wheel, as otherwise it would be liable to derail the car, and this has usually been effected by chaining it to some convenient part of the car structure so that it will be caused to skid along the trackrail during the progress of the car. The chaining or fastening of the car-Wheel not only arrests its revolution, but it also arrests the revolution of the car-axle and the carwheel at the opposite end of the car-axle, I

and thus causes both car-wheels to skid upon the track-rails and by doing so injures and renders unfit for use the previously-undamaged one and adds the cost of an extra wheel to the cost of the repairs, which can be avolded by the use of the present invention, as a set of car-wheel skids, one right and one left, can be easily placed in position-that is, in front of and between the defective car-wheel and the car-wheel at the other end of the same axle and the track-rails. The flanges of the car-wheel skids engage the inner sides of the track-rails and prevent the lateral displacement outwardly of the body portions of the car-wheel skids upon the tread of the trackrails, while their inward displacement is prevented by the flanges of the car-wheels overlapping their side surfaces.

These railwaycar-wheel skids can be easily carried either as a part of the car equipment or in some convenient part of the train, so that when an injury to a car-wheel occurs it is only necessary to remove them from their resting-place and place them upon the track-rails in front of the car-wheels to be carried upon them, so that such car-wheels will mount upon the tops of the car-wheel skids when the car has been moved forward sufficiently for that purpose.

By fastening the chains of the car-wheel skids to the brake-beam, brake-head, or some other convenient part of the car structure the car-wheel skids will be drawn forward by the progress of the car with the defective and undamaged car-wheels riding upon them until the car has been brought to a siding or terminal or other stopping-place, Where the defective car-Wheel can be removed Without impeding the traflic of the road.

The means for fastening the railway-car- Wheel skid to the car structure and the attachment of such fastening means to the body portion of the car-Wheel skid may be changed at pleasure Without departing from the principle of the invention, the essential feature of which is the body portion for the car-Wheels to ride upon as the car-Wheel skid is carried forward along the track-rail by the progress of the car.

Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A railWay-car-Wheel skid comprising a body portion having an even inclined mounting-surface, an even horizontal tread, a depending flange at the inner side thereof and a means for detachably connecting the railwaycar-Wheel skid to the car so as to slide upon the track and carry the car-Wheel upon it.

2. Arai1Way-car-Wheel skid having an even horizontal tread, an even inclined mountingsurface of a shorter length than the tread, a flange at one side of the tread only, an apertured lug at the thicker end of the skid, a link pivoted to the lug and a flexible connecting means attached to the link.

Port Arthur, Ontario, March 16, A. D.

WM. HENRY FLETCHER. In presence of MARY MoLnoD, W- MOBRADY. 

